Cultures of Movement: Mobile Subjects, Communities, and Technologies in =
the Americas

Panel, paper, and alternative-format presentation submissions are =
invited for the "Cultures of Movement: Mobile Subjects, Communities, and =
Technologies in the Americas" conference, to be held in Victoria, =
British Columbia, Canada, on April 8-10, 2010.

Open to students, scholars, and professionals, the conference is meant =
to build new ties amongst all those interested in the theoretical or =
applied study of mobilities. The study of mobilities is a young and =
constantly evolving interdisciplinary field. The concept of "mobility" =
refers to the social, political, historical, cultural, economic, =
geographic, communicative, and material dimensions of movement. Students =
and scholars of mobilities focus their attention on the intersecting =
movements of bodies, objects, capital, and signs across time-space, =
paying attention as well as to the way relations between mobility and =
immobility constitute new networks and patterns of social life. The =
multiple forms of mobility, or mobilities, are often taken to =
include-amongst others-subjects such as: transportation; travel and =
tourism; migration; transnational flows of people, objects, information, =
and capital; mobile communications; and social networks and meetings. =
While the conference is open to all themes pertinent to the study of =
mobilities from a social and cultural perspective-irrespective of the =
geographical site of empirical or theoretical attention-the main focus =
of the conference will be on the experience, practice, social =
organization, and cultural significance of forms of mobility in North, =
Central, and South America.=20

Whereas in Europe the new mobilities paradigm has taken a strong hold in =
academic units, professional research networks, and recognized =
publication outlets, the study of mobilities is still in its infancy in =
the Americas. In contrast, mobility is very much part of the core of the =
social imaginary, geo-politics, and cultural life of the Americas. =
Indeed, to be "on the move" is amongst the most quintessential =
characteristics of what it means to be a citizen of the Americas. =
Furthermore, the Americas are home to many, distinct mobile cultures and =
practices: from indigenous cultures rooted in traditional meanings of =
home to the historical institutionalization of colonial and postcolonial =
trade routes and forced relocations, from controversial experiments in =
free transnational trade, to the politics and experience of migration =
and Diaspora, from the widespread diffusion of portable communication =
technologies, to the mobilization of surveillance systems, and from the =
leisure mobilities of tourism, to the social and cultural significance =
of transportation and movement in daily life.